A Century of relativity II
The exhibition presents the complex story of modern art through selected works, following the interplay of different, often contradictory artistic styles along a broadly chronological timeline. Its focus is mainly on painting and sculpture, introducing visitors to the key movements and tendencies of Czech modern art. A distinctive feature of the second part is the placement of Czech postwar art within a broader Central European context.
the first half of the 20th century
The Attic exhibition hall is devoted to art from the first half of the 20th century. It opens with the lingering influence of Impressionism and Symbolism at the turn of the century, while its main focus lies in modern movements ranging from Expressionism, Cubism and Cubo-Expressionism to Civilism. The display also includes abstraction and Surrealism of the late 1920s and 1930s and concludes with works by artists associated with Group 42. Special attention is paid to modern landscape painting, whose examples, though expressed in dif-ferent artistic languages, reflect the atmosphere of their time.
A unique section presents intimate works by Adolf Hölzel, the Olomouc-born pioneer of European abstraction, acquired by the museum thanks to the generous donation of Berlin collectors Heinz and Monika Röthinger.
the first half of the 20th century
The Attic exhibition hall is devoted to art from the first half of the 20th century. It opens with the lingering influence of Impressionism and Symbolism at the turn of the century, while its main focus lies in modern movements ranging from Expressionism, Cubism and Cubo-Expressionism to Civilism. The display also includes abstraction and Surrealism of the late 1920s and 1930s and concludes with works by artists associated with Group 42. Special attention is paid to modern landscape painting, whose examples, though expressed in dif-ferent artistic languages, reflect the atmosphere of their time.
A unique section presents intimate works by Adolf Hölzel, the Olomouc-born pioneer of European abstraction, acquired by the museum thanks to the generous donation of Berlin collectors Heinz and Monika Röthinger.
The second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century
The second part of the exhibition, located in the Picture Gal-lery, offers a concise overview of major artistic tendencies from the end of the Second World War to the close of the 20th century, with several overlaps into the present. It opens with works by important solitaires of the 1950s and artists who built on the prewar avant-garde. These are followed by postwar abstrac-tion, including gestural and structural approaches. The diverse tendencies of the 1960s are represented by neo-constructivism, kinetic art and new geometry, later developed during the 1970s and 1980s. Conceptual works and selected examples of action art are also included.
In contrast to these positions stand works of new figura-tion, Czech grotesque and later existential figuration of the 1970s and 1980s. The following section is devoted to postmod-ern approaches, whose influence continued into later decades. Compared with the exhibition presented in 2013 –2025, the new display has also been expanded to include postwar land-scape painting and other forms of artistic reflection on nature.
The Picture Gallery does not present Czech art alone. Thanks to the long-term collecting activity connected with the Central European Forum Olomouc (SEFO), Czech postwar art is shown within wider artistic relationships. This international context reveals shared features of art created under similar political, cultural and social conditions, while also preserving the distinctiveness of local expressions.
Haptic Trail
The exhibition also includes the educational project Haptic Trail: Closer to Art Through Touch, created by Denisa Tessenyi. It makes selected sculptures from the Olomouc Museum of Art accessible through 3D-printed models, tactile elements and verbal descriptions. Located in the foyer and adjacent CEAD space, it invites visitors to experience art not only through sight, but also through touch and multisensory perception. It is intended primarily for visitors with visual impairments, but is open to anyone wishing to discover art without barriers and in new ways.
The Century of Relativity II
- EXHIBITION AUTHORS AND CURATORS: Štěpánka Bieleszová (1900–1946), Štěpánka Bieleszová, Ladislav Daněk (1947–2000+)
- LANGUAGE EDITING: Hana Havlíčková, Zuzana Henešová
- GRAPHIC DESIGN: Petr Šmalec, Kateřina Manková
- SPATIAL DESIGN AND INSTALLATION: Vlastimil Sedláček, Michal Soukup, Filip Šindelář, Radka Žáková
- EXHIBIT PREPARATION: Jakub Barna, Veronika Langer Klimszová, Anna Píšťková, Gabriela Polívková
- HAPTIC TRAIL PROJECT: Department of Typhlopedics, Palacký University in Olomouc, Education Department of Museum
- EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES: David Hrbek, Denisa Tessenyi
- PROMOTION: Tomáš Kasal, Martin Šinkovský, Zdeněk Sodoma